FINN ROCK: Personnel from firefighting agencies outnumbered the public for last week’s P.R.E.P. meeting. People who weren’t there missed gaining insights into how plans to protect them are evolving to meet new challenges associated with long-lasting wildfires. During the Plan, Resilient, Educate, Prepare (P.R.E.P.) session Darren Bucich, McKenzie Fire and Rescue Chief, gave outlined how the area’s fire districts interact to conduct evacuations. He also explained that although “we...

Corey Culp, McKenzie River Community School's computer science teacher, has been named Technology Educator of the Year - along with two other outstanding K-12 Oregon and SW Washington. The award comes with a cash stipend of $1,000 for their classrooms to spend on tech education materials including hardware, software, services, or curriculum. For forty years, Oregon Technology Awards (OTAs) have celebrated excellence and achievement in the region's technology industry. This year's event will...

LEABURG: The McKenzie River Discovery Center at Leaburg Lake hosted the second “Listening Session” on May 10th for a proposal to see if the McKenzie area could benefit from a “Main Street” approach. It’s an idea that has helped communities around the state either boost or stabilize their economies, according to the National Main Street Center and Oregon Parks and Recreation. In April, the McKenzie River Chamber of Commerce co-sponsored a meeting with RAIN and Rural Development...

BLUE RIVER: There were plenty of smiles on the faces of people to go along with sunny skies last Saturday. Many of the grins were on faces that a week before had spent a rainy day spiffing up the town in anticipation of celebrating the rebuilding of fire-damaged public structures and homes. As Cliff Richardson of Locals Helping Locals noted during his opening remarks, the soft opening of the Blue River Fire Station was an event that “Blue River can now brag about,” as well as the progress...

LEABURG: A successful dory workshop concluded last Friday at the McKenzie River Discovery Center (MRDC). The ten-day class was led by Brad Dimick, Cricket, and Glade Zarn of Fretwater Boatworks in Flagstaff, Arizona. Ten men and two women went from lofting the boat, building the parts, assembling the hull, and sanding and painting - to launching the result in ten days. According to Roger Fletcher, an MRDC board member and workshop coordinator, “the class re-created the first dory built for...

The Lane County Sheriff’s Office is attempting to locate William David McCormick, 52. He is a person of interest in an assault investigation. McCormick was recently seen in the Vida and McKenzie Bridge area. People who have any information regarding McCormick’s location, can call the Lane County Sheriff’s Office at 541-682-4141 and reference case...